retchousou　列帖装

KEY WORD :　art history / paintings

Also tetsuyousou 綴葉装 or retsuyousou 列葉装. A multisection book. A type of Japanese book-binding. The first three to five sheets of paper are piled up and folded in half to make a set. Then several sets of folded sheets are arranged in a neat pile with the folded edges forming the spine. The binding is made by sewing the sections together using a complex and time-consuming procedure. The finished book, therefore, can be opened perfectly flat. Retchousou originated in Japan in the 12c, and was widly used for works of native literature, including narrative stories, *nou 能 texts, and anthologies of Japanese poetry (waka 和歌). It was not used for Chinese or Buddhist texts. Confusingly, the terms *kochousou 胡蝶装 (butterfly book) and *yamatotoji 大和綴 are sometimes used to refer to multisection books, and during the late Edo period even the term *detchousou 粘葉装 became confused with retchousou.

REFERENCES:

EXTERNAL LINKS:

NOTES:

(C)2001 Japanese Architecture and Art Net Users System.　No reproduction or republication without written permission. 掲載のテキスト・写真・イラストなど、全てのコンテンツの無断複製・転載を禁じます。